1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to portable electronic devices, and more particularly to network authentication for portable electronic devices.
2. Background Art
Communication technology is constantly evolving. For instance, there was a time where the only way to make a telephone call was across a copper wire with the assistance of a human operator. Today, by contrast, people are able to call others around the world with a variety of communication devices, including cellular telephones, satellite telephones, and network-based communication systems such as voice over Internet protocol phone devices that function with the assistance of a computer or other specialized hardware. In addition to these voice-based channels, people may communicate via electronic mail, text messaging, videoconferences, and multimedia messaging as well.
With the advent of new communication protocols and technologies, device manufacturers are continually designing more features into their handsets. Similarly, service providers are continually upgrading their networks to accommodate these new features. By way of example, most mobile telephones offered by service providers today include both text and multimedia messaging in addition to voice capabilities.
Service providers of communication networks realize, however, that different users prefer to use a particular device in different ways. For instance, one user may use a fully equipped smart phone for only text communication and voice communication. Another user may use the same smart phone for multimedia communication, web browsing, and voice communication. To accommodate these different uses, the service provider may provide different service subscription plans for use with a particular device. It would be advantageous to have a method and system for ensuring that users use their devices in accordance with their particular subscription plan.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.